New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is getting set to try to make the all-important second-year leap.
But one former Patriot believes that jump will be made more difficult given the question marks surrounding New England's coaching staff.
The Patriots haven't named an offensive coordinator since Josh McDaniels departed for the head coaching job with the Las Vegas Raiders, and New England appears to be relying heavily on Joe Judge and Matt Patricia to lead the offensive coaching staff, even though the two have spent the majority of their NFL coaching careers on different sides of the ball.
Jason McCourty sees it all hurting the development of Jones.
"You'll never hear anybody (on the team) say anything in the media ... but it's definitely going to be a big thing. It has to be," McCourty said recently on NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" show, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss. "If you're Mac Jones ... who's the guy you go to and say, 'I want to run these plays this week?'"
While McCourty thinks the coaching conundrum could stunt Jones' growth at the most important position on the field, another ex-NFL player didn't see it that way. In fact, Robert Griffin III believes the complete opposite from McCourty.
"The coaching setup will have a massive impact on Mac Jones in a good way," Griffin, who is now an ESPN analyst, told Reiss. "Mac has already spoken about how it has been a collaborative process with the coaches and players talking in meetings, installing the offense. And I believe that will lead to more ownership from him about what is being called and how he sees the game."
The coaching situation and Jones' progression will certainly be two of the top storylines of Patriots' training camp when it begins on July 27.
